Betty May Campbell

Betty May (Chalakee) Campbell, age 86, passed away at St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa, OK on April 30, 2018, after complications from a long illness. She was born on May 16, 1931 to Legus and Nannie Chalakee. She lived in Tulsa, OK and was married to Bob Campbell who preceded her in death. Services celebrating Betty's life will be at 2 PM on Friday, May 4, 2018 at Cedar Creek Baptist Church in Coweta, OK with Rev. John A. Stone officiating. Burial will follow in Vernon Cemetery in Coweta, OK. Viewing will be from 4-8 PM on Thursday, May 3, 2018 at the funeral home. Family and friends may share memories online at www.brownfamilyfuneralhome.com. Services are under the care of Wright-Brown Family Funeral Home, 210 S. Broadway, Coweta, OK 74429, 918-486-5515. She was preceded in death by her parents and three siblings, Naomi Baldridge, Mary Chalakee and Johnny Chalakee. Survivors include her three children: Betty Ross and husband, Rod of Texas, Judy Stone and husband, John A. of Lebanon, OH and Kenneth Chalakee of Kiefer, OK. She had 11 grandchildren, 22 great grandchildren and 2 great-great grandchildren. Survivors of her immediate family are 2 sisters: Elsie "Bobbie" Copeland of Tulsa, OK and Sophie Lowe of Coweta, OK; 3 brothers, James Chalakee of Coweta, OK, Joe Chalakee of Coweta, OK and Tommy Chalakee of Bixby, OK. Mom was the oldest of nine children. Her life span was 86 years which allowed her to see and experience many changes in life. Times were hard for a young Indian couple, Legus and Nannie, who welcomed a baby girl into their lives and named her Betty May. For a short while she was the center of their lives and then more babies were born into this family and responsibilities changed for everyone. She grew up in the era of the dust bowl in Oklahoma and the depression which was hardship for everyone. Mom learned to work, and she worked hard all her life. She never made a lot of money but was dependable and respected by her co-workers and made friends easily. Mom was not perfect. In fact, some of her mistakes haunted her all her life until the very end, but she would be the first to say that we are still family and need to love one another. In fact, she may have worked the hardest at breaking a few rules, life seemed more fun that way. Is there anyone here that has not broken a few rules? Her three children have been known to break a few rules, but that's not all that we learned from her. We learned to work hard, to be dependable and respect others. Life is one chapter after another until one day the last chapter is written and the book is closed. The book is being closed on mom's life today, but she lives on eternally in her 3 kids where there's a little bit of her in all 3 of them. She was always smiling, always laughing (she had a great sense of humor), always helping someone. She was hindered here by the limitations of her physical body, but not anymore, today she is free! Someone once said, "life is not measured by the breaths that we take, but by the moments that take our breath away". I hope mom had some breathtaking moments in her life. A songwriter wrote, "Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high, there's a land that I've heard of somewhere in a lullaby...somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue...if happy little bluebirds fly, then why, O why can't I?" Fly away Mom, you're free to go!